George Clooney reflects on near-fatal motorcycle crash

George Clooney believed that he was in his final moments after his 2018 motorcycle accident.

In a new interview with The Sunday Times, the 60-year-old actor reflected on the accident, which took place in Sardinia, Italy while filming Catch-22.

Clooney explained that after he flew over the handlebars of his motorcycle and was laying on the ground while emergency services were on their way, he was "waiting for my switch to turn off".

The Tender Bar director was luckily not seriously injured in the crash, but the experience left a permanent change in how he viewed being a public figure as onlookers took out their phones to photograph him as he lay on the ground.

"If you're in the public eye, what you realise when you're on the ground thinking it's the last minute of your life is that, for some people, it's just going to be entertainment for their Facebook page," he said. "I'm a pretty positive guy, but that told me - clearly - that you really are here just for their entertainment."

After the accident, the actor told interviewers that his wife, human rights lawyer Amal Clooney, banned him from riding motorcycles again, to which he obliged.

During the interview, Clooney also reflected on turning 60 earlier this year and admitted that hitting the milestone age is "a bummer".

"But it's that or dead," he continued. "I said to Amal, knock on wood, I'm healthy. I still play basketball with the younger gang. I feel good. But in 20 years I'm 80 - and 80 is a real number. I said the next 20 years are halcyon and we need to celebrate that, we should focus on the work we do being just the stuff we have to, that we feel in our chest."